Detective Suzanne Kernohan

Related Post

Detective Suzanne Kernohan a 29 year veteran of the Toronto Police Service retired from the Sex Crimes Unit in August of 2013. In her early days as a uniform officer working the streets of downtown Toronto, Suzanne developed and nurtured her relationships with street youth and women engaged in the sex trade. She later worked in an undercover capacity specializing in crimes involving prostitution and the exploitation of women.

Suzanne continued her career in an investigative capacity. She was regularly called upon to investigate sensitive crimes against women, specifically sexual assault and domestic violence in nature. Suzanne became a member of the V.I.P. Squad of the Intelligence Bureau where she provided protective services for visiting dignitaries and high profile members of the community. This included body guarding and motorcade driving. She most recently worked on the Michelle and Barack Obama protection team during the 2010 G20 Summit.

Suzanne’s specialized training and investigative expertise led her to become a member of the elite sexual assault squad. After several years of investigating high profile sexual assaults, Suzanne became the Sexual Assault Coordinator for the Service. This role was multi-faceted and began with Suzanne forming the Sexual Assault Advisory Committee. (SAAC) The SAAC is a group of individuals from the legal profession, health care profession, and community agencies who meet regularly to work on a common goal to improve how a system responds to sexual assault. The SAAC is still operating today.

As the Sexual Assault Coordinator, Suzanne liaised with members of the Sex Crimes Unit and Divisional Investigative Units to ensure uniformity in approach to sexual assault investigations. This included updating content and adherence to Service Policy and Procedures, ensuring compliance with Adequacy Standards and necessary training. One of Suzanne’s greatest career accomplishments was her involvement with the Auditor General’s review of the “handling of sexual assault cases by the Police.” At the time of the initial 1999 audit, no such audit had been conducted anywhere in North America. Suzanne was instrumental with the implementation, ongoing monitoring and compliance of 60 Recommendations made within the policy and procedure of the Toronto Police Service. This undertaking was groundbreaking and received significant media attention and interest among law enforcement agencies throughout Canada and the United States.

Recognizing that her knowledge and skills were transferable, Suzanne co-founded Investigative and Corporate Evaluation Inc. (ICEInc.) and now assists organizations and private corporations with their sensitive issues.